Your Board plays an integral part in your Association.  Did you know your Association is a corporation and the Board is responsible for making sure it runs in the proper manner?  In the Governing Documents for each and every Association, it lays out the authority your Board has to govern the Association.  The Governing Documents provide the structure in which the Board can work effectively. 

Each Community Association consists of elected members to represent and protect the best interests of the community.  These elected representatives make up your Board.  A Board at a minimum would consist of three elected officials.  Some declarations might call for a larger Board of five, seven, or even nine members.  Once elected to the Board, the newly elected officials will determine the roles each member will take on for the given term.  The three positions on a Board that you must have in place are those of the President, Secretary, and Treasurer.   When you have a larger Association, you may include a Vice President and Member(s) at Large.  You want your Board to have an odd number of members so there can’t be a tie vote when it comes to voting on any issue.

Each member of the Board has the same equal voting rights and no one position holds more power than another as each position varies.  In the balance of this article, we want to provide you with a brief summary of the roles of each position. Keep in mind when you are working with your Board that these fellow members of your Association are volunteering their time free of charge to help make sure your Association is run properly.

The role of the President is to oversee operations including but not limited to conducting meetings, preparing agendas, overseeing rule and policy development and work with committees.  The President is the official spokesperson for the Board and would work closely with the Property Manager to make sure the property’s agenda is moving forward.  As President, you would also be able to execute contracts on behalf of the Association. 

The role of the Secretary is preserving the Association’s history, maintaining its records while protecting it from liability.  The secretary has the duty to record the minutes of all the Board meetings.  Along with the other Board members, the Secretary should be verse in running a meeting according to Roberts Rules of Order.  This ensures there is a motion and a seconding of the motion to move something to a vote by the Board.

The role of the Treasurer is to make sure the financials are accurate and the Association’s assets and liabilities are secure.  The Treasure along with all Board members are provided with monthly financials from the management company but the Treasure should spend extra time reviewing them for accuracy.  In a lot of cases, the Treasurer will provide a report/summary of where the Association stands financially during a Board meeting. 

The Board works with your Property Manager to manage the property but it is the Board who sets policy and establishes a direction for the Association.  The Property Manager then sees that the policies are implemented.  Next time your Association is planning to have an election you should consider running for a Board position, it is a great way to give back to your community.